Methanol → Methyl 3-hydroxy-2-nitrobenzoate

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Reaction Steps

A solution of 3-hydroxy-2-nitrobenzoic acid (51 g) and con.H2SO4 (5 mL) in anhydrous methanol (450 mL) was heated to reflux for 48 hr. The mixture was concentrated to remove methanol, and the residue was partitioned between water (500 mL) and ethyl acetate (800 mL). The organic layer was washed with brine (300 mL), dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, and concentrated to give crude compound. The crude product was purified by chromatography (silica gel, petroleum ether/ethyl acetate=40:1 to 5:1) to give methyl 3-hydroxy-2-nitrobenzoate (28 g) 1H-NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ 3.8 (s, 3H), 7.32-7.34 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 1H), 7.39-7.41 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 7.48-7.52 (t, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 11.37 (s, 1H); LC-MS (m/z) 198 [M+1]+.

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